The Life of Psi
by Kiyyt
Summary: A collection of Psychonauts drabbles.
1. Introduction

A/N: So, I stole the list from and decided to apply it to Psychonauts. Some drabbles will be longer than other, and they will not necessarily be in the order they appear on in the list, but I will try to complete all 100. Some will be sad, some will be funny, and some might be just plain weird. I'm open to any suggestions that anyone has as well.

**Introduction **

When Agent Razputin Aquato met his Psychonauts teammates for the first time, it was nothing like he expected.

In fact, when he was introduced to his first team, they were anything but impressed with him.

The shortest of the three men looked over him with a critical eye.

"He's a bit on the puny side, isn't he?"

Raz eyed him just as critically, noting that he was almost as tall as the man.

"I'm eleven. What's your excuse?"

The men stood in a stunned silence before roaring with laughter. This would be a beautiful beginning to a long camaraderie.


	2. Flowers

**Flowers**

Razputin had many memories about flowers. Sunflowers, daisies, chrysanthemums, all of them had memories attached.

He remembered how his mother's favorite flowers were sunflowers and how she always smelled like them, regardless of if there were any around or not.

He remembered that after she died, he went by her grave once a month, each time bringing fresh roses.

But not all of the memories were sad. He also remembered the red flower fields of Holland. The circus had been traveling and one of the venues was in Rotterdam, he had looked out of the caravan window and seen a sea of red. He never knew what kind of flowers those were, but he thought they were beautiful nonetheless.

He remembered how Lili, who was ironically named after a flower, was distracted by every flower that she saw. How when she first spoke to him, he was hanging upside-down in midair above a small flower made of meat that she was trying to protect from being crushed.

He stood in front of the florist's shop, remembering. Smiling gently, he grabbed a handful of daisies and paid for them.

The florist gave him an odd look as he chuckled something about grieving widows under his breath.


	3. Trouble Lurking

**Trouble Lurking**

The wind gave a gentle waft, quietly rustling the leaves of the nearby plant life.

A pair of eyes nervously gazed from their hiding place among the bushes near the shore. A camper had unexpectedly spotted the "bear" as she was stalking through the campgrounds late at night.

He had followed her. And he wanted to wrestle of all things.

"Hairless Bear, you cannot lurk forever," a thickly accented voice called out.

Yes, Linda, The Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata, was most definitely having trouble lurking.


	4. Hold My Hand

AN: This actually stemmed from the observation that every character except Raz and his father have only four fingers. Raz and his father have five.

**Hold My Hand**

The last person who had held Lili's hand was her father. She was daddy's little girl, and despite the fact that she was growing up, she still liked to hold her father's hand. It was about connection, a sign of caring and love.

However, now, she was at camp, far from her father, and, though she'd never admit it, nervous. It was a new year, with new campers. She probably wouldn't know many people. It had only been one day, but she hadn't really connected with anyone. No instant friendships, nothing. Except Raz.

Raz fascinated Lili. He ran away from the circus and snuck into camp. It was just so weird that she had to learn more about him. The more she learned, the more she found there was to like.

And she did. She liked him a lot. She had even managed to gather her nerves and admit it. And he had even said he liked her too.

That was how they found themselves sitting side by side on a bench by the lodge, their hands dangerously close to touching.

Lili's eyes wandered to their hands, willing him to reach over and hold her hand. She was growing tired of waiting. Slowly, she inched her hand towards his. As his hand grew closer, she paused and quirked her head.

"You have an extra finger," she noted astounded, as she held her hand up in comparison.

"See," she continued, as she held their hands against each other's, palm to palm.

Both gazed at each other for a few seconds before their fingers slowly interlaced. Despite Raz's extra finger, Lili found that her hand fit quite comfortably in his.

They sat on the bench in silence, hands clasped, both smiling softly. Nine interlaced fingers between the two.

It wasn't weird. It was just Raz. Lili and Raz. Connected.


	5. Drowning

**Drowning**

Bobby Zilch stared at the surface of the water in horror. He hadn't meant for that to happen. He and the goggle kid were just arguing by the docks. Nothing out of the ordinary. He shoved him. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. But this time, he fell over the rope banister and into the water. Bobby laughed. The little klutz just fell into the water, it was funny. But then, he didn't come back up. Bobby waited and waited, each passing second making him grow more anxious.

_He can't swim, _he suddenly thought in terror. _He's drowning._

Without a second thought, he dove into Lake Oblongata. His eyes frantically scanned the water around him. There he was, not moving.

Bobby blinked. He thought he had seen what looked like a hand pinning Raz's hands to his sides.

_Trick of the light,_ he thought grabbing the kid by the collar and dragging him up to the surface.

He took a deep breath of air and began towing the motionless boy to shore.

"Admiral!" He yelled as he drew close to the shore.

The next few minutes blurred together. The admiral pulled them both out of the water, and carried an unbreathing, pale Raz off somewhere. He stayed where he was, letting the sun dry him off.

_I killed him_, Bobby thought.

_His dad's going to come tomorrow only to find his son's body and it's my fault._

Bobby Zilch stared at the surface of the water in horror. He had killed someone. He was a murderer.

He didn't even notice the admiral returning to tell him Raz would survive.


	6. 67 Percent

**67**

Technically Razputin Aquato failed the Psychonauts Written Entrance Exam with a score of 67. His responses followed no protocol and were absurdly reckless. No team leader in their right mind (and they had better be if they were Psychonauts) would even dare suggest his course of action. It was too dangerous.

Truman Zanotto looked over the exam curiously. The proctors of the exam had no idea what to do with this particular application. Apparently the test in front of him had confounded its way through the ranks and been given to him as a last resort. Now, the future career of a young man hung in the balance.

'Your team is neutralized, identity compromised, and the enemy is aware of your location. Should you run you will inevitably be killed, but if you remain where you are you and your team will all be killed. What do you do?"

_Un-neutralize my team and kick the enemy's ass._

Truman Zanotto stared at the paper in surprise before chuckling.

"Welcome to the Psychonauts, Agent Aquato."


	7. Silence

AN: Because it may not be clear in the chapter, I'll just say that this is when Raz created "The Tank" (his super-protected mind).

**Silence**

For six-year-old Razputin Aquato there was never silence. Every moment was a symphony of sound, of thoughts. And he was the only one who could hear them. When he approached a fellow circus performer, a contortionist, about the sounds she only looked at him strangely.

_I'm not crazy, _he thought.

_He's psychic, _a voice said in the contortionist's voice, but she hadn't spoken.

His eyes widened, panicking.

_Dad hates psychics._

The room began spinning and he blinked furiously to correct his vision.

He awoke on the floor of the big top, the contortionist hovering beside him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Razputin sat up dazedly. The voices were gone. He could finally get some peace and quiet.

"I'm fine," he replied smiling brightly.

Finally, silence.


	8. Rated

**Rated**

After Razputin hit the age of sixteen, the counselors of Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp unanimously decided that he was no longer allowed to teach.

"Why the hell aren't I allowed to teach this year?" he had asked, outraged.

"I've taught here for five years," he continued, "why the _hell_ am I not allowed to teach for a sixth. You don't have another pyrokinesis teacher. "

Ford Cruller stared at his protégé wide-eyed. His aura was positively crackling with rage.

"Razputin," Cruller began, "I had no choice..."

"But _why?_"

"Very well. Some of the parents of campers from last year have, er, expressed concerns about your _choice of language_ during classes."

"What does that mean?"

"Apparently, some of the campers picked up some of your more colorful phrases during last year's session."

"Are you trying to tell me that I can't teach _because I cuss too much?"_

"Precisely."

"So, if I agree to swear less can I have my job back?"

"I don't see why not."

"Alright," Raz shrugged. It was a simple solution. He turned to leave the sanctuary.

"Razputin," Cruller said in a warning tone, "keep it rated PG this year. Don't say things that the kids will get in trouble repeating."

Raz sighed, there went half his vocabulary.


	9. Deep in Thought

Silence.

It was a not a word unfamiliar to Raz, but the actual meaning of the word was completely foreign to him. For as long as he could remember, he had never had a moment's silence. Between living in a circus (in every sense of the word) and being a telepath there was always _some_ background noise wherever he went.

Stray thoughts and loud noises were the soundtrack to his life. But until then he couldn't ever just stop it all.

At that moment, campers and counselors had long since gone to bed, but being unable to sleep he had snuck away from the cabin. As he sat atop the main lodge roof, deep in thought, it was silent. Completely and utterly silent.

Raz gave a small frown.

"This kinda sucks."


	10. Dying

**Dying (of Embarrassment)**

Lili Zanotto glared at the figure in front of her.

"The Psychonauts just aren't what they used to be. Times have changed. The world just doesn't need us anymore."

"The world does too need Psychonauts. Right here at this very camp, in fact. I think there are several fishy things that need psychic investigation." The boy in front of her declared.

Lili just rolled her eyes.

"You are so immature!"

_And cute. When are you going to just shut up and kiss me?_

"Shut up and do what?"

She felt the heat rush to her face immediately.

Of course he was a telepath. Of course.


	11. Fairy Tale

**Fairy Tale**

If anyone knew life wasn't a fairytale, it was Lili Zanotto. Her father worked long hours and didn't stop working even when he left the office, and her mother was dead. She had no evil stepmother, she wasn't a princess, and she definitely didn't see any Prince Charming anywhere around. Not that she cared _that_ much.

Then she met Raz who was anything _but_ charming. He was sarcastic and immature and somehow, he charmed her. Not that she would ever admit it. Not even to herself.

_Prince Charming, my left foot_, she snorted.

Lili Zanotto's life wasn't a fairy tale.

That would be far too boring for her.


	12. Solitude

Sometimes he just needed to get away from it all from everyone. They were all so loud, even when they weren't. It could be silent in a room, and he still couldn't escape the noise. It was just one of the curses of being a telepath. It was easy to see why a lot of them went insane. It was so much noise! And all the time. Even at night, when everyone was asleep he heard fragments of dream conversations, brief images. None of them his own thoughts.

He had almost mastered ignoring the constant buzz in the back of his head. Every once in a while a thought slipped through his mental barriers, but not often. But still being a telepath _and_ living in a circus where he had little to no privacy or personal space was a bit much. Sometimes he just needed to be alone.

He loved his family and he loved his friends dearly, but he needed this time to himself.


	13. Under the Rain

**Under the Rain**

Most people would think that Razputin Aquato would hate the rain. It was water after all and to the rest of the Psychonauts, Razputin appeared to have a phobia of water.

A really, really bad phobia.

He would only take showers, never baths and wouldn't even stand too close to the water when they had to be by it. He stood close enough so he would still be useful to them, but far enough away that it wasn't even touching any part of him.

So when it began to rain during a casual team hangout in a park, the team froze. They stood and waited in awful anticipation of a breakdown, a freak-out, by their youngest team member. It was inevitable really. It was bound to happen eventually and better now then on a mission. At least now they could _try _to help him out. Figure out the cause of such an extreme fear and _fix it._ Because they were Psychonauts and friends. It was what they did.

But the breakdown never came.

Razputin just smiled and laughed, eyes lighting up with wonder and joy as the raindrops fell on his skin.


	14. Hero

Dogen couldn't help but feel a bit bitter.

This was his third year at Whispering Rock Psychic Summer Camp and still no one cared. His first year, he had been the shy and quiet kid that no one had noticed despite his attempts to make friends. That year there had been a kid there from Albania. He was so foreign. So unique. So _different. _He really had no chance to gain any attention if that kid was his competition. So he just faded into the background, vowing to try again next year.

His second year was similar to the first. By the time he had gathered the courage to talk to someone, they had already formed their own little cliques. Ones that he was not a part of. He would try again the next year, when new campers came.

That year at the camp's welcoming ceremony, it had looked promising. There were mostly new campers and he was feeling pretty confident. After the ceremony, he would talk to some of the new campers and hopefully make some friends. But then _he_ showed up.

Raz wasn't a bad guy. In fact, Raz was his friend. But he was just so _interesting_ and odd that everyone paid attention to him.

When the camp came under attack, Raz was there.

Raz was the one who noticed something odd was happening.

Raz was the one who figured it all out,

Raz was the one who gained _all_ of his merit badges in one day in order to save everyone.

Raz was the one who had saved everyone.

Dogen was just a victim.

This was supposed to be his year.

But once again, someone else was the _different _one.

Raz was the hero.


	15. Family

Sasha Nein and Milla Vodello had only met a member of Razputin's family once. They had met his father when he came to pick Raz up from his Whispering Rock escapade, but that had been years ago.

So when the Aquato Family Circus arrived in a nearby city, the opportunity was irresistible. The Aquatos had even invited them to come by whenever, so it wasn't as if they were going just to irritate their teammate.

"Razputin is a member of our team now," Sasha had told Milla "perhaps meeting his family would be good for us."

They arrived at the circus around four in the afternoon. The next show wouldn't be until six so they had plenty of time to meet with Razputin before he actually had to perform.

They were able to find the caravan easily. Sasha knocked sharply and waited. After a few moments, a loud yell responded. Taking that as a cue to enter, Sasha and Milla did so.

Chaos was the only way they could describe it. They entered to see Razputin, covered in chalk, shouting something at what appeared to be his younger brother, who was just laughing. A older dark-haired young man was shouting at Raz while simultaneously being yelled at by an older dark-haired woman. Razputin's father was just laughing hysterically in his chair.

Sasha and Milla looked around the caravan, perplexed.

Obviously they had missed something.

But it was easy to see why Razputin was so loud if this was his family.


	16. Can You Hear Me?

The first time Raz (and his team) had disappeared on a Psychonauts mission, Lili had been distraught. As the daughter of Truman Zanotto, she knew what "missing" usually meant. It usually meant nothing good. It usually meant kidnapped and drugged, dead, or heavily injured.

She tried over and over to reach him despite not knowing where he was.

_Can you hear me? Raz, can you hear me?_

When Raz reappeared, it was nothing that serious. The entire team had "vanished" because of a large psitanium deposit. They had all been fine, but the psitanium had interfered with their ability to reach Headquarters.

She had been so relieved when she found out that she almost cried. Almost.

Instead, she cuffed Raz on the head and called him an idiot for making her worry.


End file.
